Mike Lamb
A local contact in the "industry" emailed me this recommendation awhile back:
Hi Mike,
The only laptop I will ever continue to use or purchase in the future will be a Mac Book Pro with OSX 10.9 etc..etc...(Mavericks)
I prefer that if you choose to get one, it should have 8 gb or RAM standard and expandable to 16 GB if possible.
The hard drive is not as essential to be concerned with because you should always have an 3 TB external anyway.
If I have to choose how much hard drive space in the computer standard, I would like a 1TB internal preferably a solid state...
Your core processor should be an Intel I-5, I-7 or better.
Duo core at minimum and Quad core prefered and expandable as well.
The screen can be 13" or I prefer 15"... anything bigger is obnoxious in my opinion and should have a Retina display or better.